JERUSALEM, Dec  5, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Israel now counts 138 hostages held by

Gaza militants, authorities told AFP on Tuesday, after adding to the list one
person previously considered missing since Hamas's October 7 attacks.
       
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office provided the updated number but
gave no details concerning the 138th confirmed hostage or how Israeli
authorities were able to verify their status.
       
Previously, Israeli officials had said 137 hostages were still inside the
Gaza Strip and included 20 women and two children.
       
Officials say some 240 people -- both Israelis and foreigners -- were
abducted by Palestinian militants who stormed southern Israel on October 7,
launching attacks that killed 1,200, mostly civilians.
       
Israel has responded with an intense military campaign aimed at eliminating
Islamist group Hamas which controls Gaza, and since October 27 has sent ground
forces into the narrow Palestinian enclave.
       
The devastating violence has killed nearly 16,000 people in Gaza, according
to the Hamas-run health ministry.
       
A seven-day truce which began in late November saw 105 hostages released
from Gaza captivity, including 80 who were freed in exchange for 240
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
       
Five hostages were freed before the truce, including one rescued in an
Israeli operation.